Professor Carlota Saldanha’s Memory Roadmap

Born and raised in Beira, Mozambique, she moved to Lisbon when she was 17 years old and was here to stay.

As a little girl, she would only be away from her parents to participate in scouts gatherings or to take school exams. She remembers the beaches, the parties she used to organise with her friends and the playground games, where she could roller skate or play football with the boys. As a student, she always thought that the books from her school’s Library did not match her “will to learn.”

We were received by Maria Carlota Saldanha Lopes, or Professor Carlota, with a sweet voice and a determined look.

She knew from an early age that she wanted to study at the Higher Technical Institute, because it was an “extremely organised” place, as she considers that “having rules is essential to any decision she makes,” she said. “However, the existence of rules does not mean that there is no place for creativity or liberty. When I talk about rules, I mean basic rules, which I apply at the lab or at home.”

She studied Chemical Engineering and now has a career in the field of Teaching and Research. She believes that there should be a larger number of optional subjects and intermediate years, so that students are allowed to go to other places, improve their knowledge in other fields, because “it is important to understand that life is more than just opening and closing drawers, because opening and closing drawers dehumanises people.”

The FMUL and the Higher Technical Institute are her second home.

As a mother of two children, who are already in their forties, she is well aware of the fact that she was forced to deprive her children of many things to get to where she is today. However, when she spent time with them, she dedicated herself to them 100% and “they always knew they could count on me.” She has plans to return to Mozambique sometime soon, as she promised her granddaughter that she would be there for her birthday and a promise is a promise.

She was honoured by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and by all the people who worked with her and, because she won’t stop, a few days ago she heard that she will receive another award, the Farhraeus Medal Award, from the European Society of Hemorheology and Microcirculation (ESHM), which will be given to her in Cracow, at “ The Joint Conference of Three Societies, ESCHM-ISCH-ISB, in July, where she will conduct the “Farhraeus Lecture.” The nomination for this award was voted by the national representatives of each European country that are part of the European Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation Coordinating Committee.

On March 19, you were the great Honouree. What did you feel at that moment?

Carlota Saldanha: It was a great surprise! First, Professor Miguel Castanho said he needed to talk to me the following week and when the day came, he called me, and I took my notebook. He started by saying that since Professor Sayon Roy was coming to present the “iMM Monday Lecture,” we would do a longer session and the Director of our Faculty would also make a speech, along with Professor Fausto Pinto and Professor José Fernandes e Fernandes and I, far from imagining what was going to happen, was very excited and commented “that’s nice, Professor Sayon Roy will be very pleased.” I thought it was an excellent idea! And we left it at that…

Then, when I arrived here at the office, Ana Silva-Herdade started laughing and said, “I was anxious the entire Sunday, because, even though I knew what was going on, I told you I did not” and although I did not understand what she was talking about, I said “it will be great, it is going to be a great party.” And as she thought that I had understood, she continued “we need to arrange a lunch, or a tea.” I agreed and mentioned we could get some samosas and something like that, because I know Professor Sayon loves Indian food. And that was it. At the end of the day, as I stopped thinking about what I was writing for a while, I started recalling a few loose sentences and I thought “wait… this is a double event.” Because I know that every time someone leaves the Biochemistry Institute, Professor Miguel Castanho likes to organise a farewell party.

However, I only realised that when Professor Miguel told me that “Professor Fernandes is going to give a lesson in your honour,” only then did I realise that they would be honouring me. I was really emotional and very happy. I did not see that coming.

Professor, you started your career as a teacher at the FMUL in 1973. What was it like to balance that academic life with your personal life at such troubled times?

Carlota Saldanha: I started working here after finishing a degree from Advanced Studies Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, which is now the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Gulbenkian Science Institute). That degree was later considered to be a Master’s Degree and at that time, at home, we were already sharing the house chores. When I came to FMUL, I was already pregnant, but still at an early stage, so Professor Carlos Manso did not notice anything. He only realised it later. In fact, there were two of us and we were both pregnant. My son was born in June, right after the revolution of April, 25th and I only spent a month at home. At the time, it was already a bit complicated. It was summer and I remember that I had to study, but I also wanted to take my son out to enjoy the sun.

The revolution of April 25th had no impact on my professional life. Except maybe in 1975, as more than one thousand students enrolled in the University and the lectures took place at Aula Magna and so it was a bit difficult to manage at the time.

Were there less students in the previous years?

Carlota Saldanha: Yes, a lot less! In the previous years there were less students and they were usually older. I remember teaching my classes in the Anatomy auditorium and the students being older in those years that preceded the revolution. But it was always a very fulfilling experience.

The research we were doing at the time was very appealing, but very hard, because the conditions were bad. I had just left the Advanced Studies Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, where we would submit a request at night and would have the book or the reagent available the following day. We had it all.

Did you begin your career as a researcher at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation?

Carlota Saldanha: I started at the IMI, which was an Institute at Poço do Bispo, but I did not have a good experience there, because they did not respect the schedules and I don’t think that I learned a lot there. Then, I had this opportunity, as Professor Van Uden started the first Biochemistry degree for Engineers of the Advanced Studies Centre of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and it was a good experience. Everything I have learned about Biochemistry, in terms of animal experiments, I learned from English, American and some Portuguese teachers. It was a very complete degree. Later, this degree was recognised by the Nova University of Lisbon as the equivalent to a Master’s Degree. It was very demanding, as there were many assessments, but it was a very good experience. The atmosphere was really good, with people from different countries, almost all engineers. Those were really good times!

How did you end up at the Faculty of Medicine?

Carlota Saldanha: O come from Africa, where I lived for 17 years, I studied there at a Catholic School. The books we had access to at the School’s Library were all related to religion and I always felt that there was something missing there. For me, it wasn’t enough just to repeat common knowledge. I wanted more. From an early stage, I knew that I wanted to come to the Higher Technical Institute, because it was very well organised. And to me, having rules is essential to any decision I make and, in this case, it was no different. However, the existence of rules does not mean that there is no place for creativity or liberty. When I talk about rules, I mean basic rules, which I apply at the lab or at home. For example, we should only touch whatever belongs to us.

When I started studying Engineering, Process Chemical Engineering, I knew from the beginning that I could not go to a factory or to a quality laboratory and do the same thing every day. Doing the same thing every day was not what I wanted to do with my life. I had to go to a place where I could make discoveries.

Meanwhile, at the Faculty of Medicine there were some vacancies for Assistant Professor and so I sent my application and I was very happy because I was going to do something completely new. It was a stage in my life when I was constantly faced with challenges.

Teaching back then was very different from what is practised nowadays…

Carlota Saldanha: Yes, it has clearly evolved! I started with physiological biochemistry, by teaching theoretical-practical classes to small yet very exciting groups. I now realise that I was very demanding with my students, in terms of behaviour. However, I’ve always enjoyed interacting with young adults.

As far as teaching is concerned, it is important to consider that we go from a lower numerus clausus to a higher numerus clausus and one of the things that I have observed and that always concerned me was that students arrive at the university with basic and poorly structured knowledge in the field of chemistry. We started, at the time of molecule biochemistry, by trying to organise small courses of organic chemistry, which started with some small enquiries to understand the students’ level of knowledge. At the end of the courses we repeated the enquiries to find out what they had actually learned. We tried in many ways to stimulate the students’ interest in organic chemistry, but it was impossible to spend a week or two, or even a month, teaching organic chemistry.

It was when Professor Martins e Silva joined the Biochemistry department that we started teaching Molecule Biochemistry, which I mentioned earlier and, at the time, there were no practical classes. That’s when I felt that I had to create a course to teach the basics for research and laboratory work. I had many students, some of whom are now experts in a variety of fields. Teaching someone is helping them learn and we also learn a lot during that process. So, I implemented the free courses. I felt that it was necessary to create more opportunities for medical students. These were completely free courses, I invited many foreign experts and we did a lot of experimental work. These courses kept evolving.

I still remember, at the beginning of these free courses, for example, the cooperation with Surgery II, with Professor Bicha Castelo, by inducing diabetes in piglets. And every morning we had what he called the Pig Brother. The students had to check on their sick pig and monitor the evolution. These courses had other components, which obviously allowed us to assess the learning process and teaching. It was a real interactive learning.

Allow me to tell you that here at the Faculty of Medicine there is a stronger connection between teacher and student: the teacher/student relationship is completely different now than when I was a student at the Higher Technical Institute.

With the end of the numerus clausus for access to the degree in medicine, we started having an excessive number of students and so the logistics and time capacity was exceeded. And then came the Bologna Process, according to which students get a degree in three years. It is not enough time, there is no time to learn; people need time to absorb, assimilate, reason and communicate with teachers and their colleagues. My Master’s degree thesis in medical education focused on the learning processes and styles. How do students study? What is their approach?

After 44 years at the Faculty, you probably have some stories to share. Would you like to share any in particular?

Carlota Saldanha: There are a lot of moments in relation to the team I did research with. There are a lot of stories related to the students also; there was a time when they brought a box with two duchese because we were talking about metabolism in class. One thing that they enjoyed a lot was that when I arrived I always said “Good morning girls, good morning boys.” I wouldn’t let them talk to each other. There were always the handsome boys, who are those that look like the centre of a flower, and the petals are the girls that are always around them, and that was a problem. I had to dismember that group. There is another moment that will never forget: exchanging e-mails with a student until 4 a.m. We had had an exam and the students had to select the right answers from a variety of options and almost none of them had answered the question. I always told them the content from the theoretical classes would be assessed through a written test. But, obviously, many of them did not attend the theoretical classes; the first year is always good, but from the second year, they lose it (laughs). And so I included a question on that exam that was challenged by one of the students, because she had talked to various Paediatricians and that was not right, and I kept explaining to her why, and she would reply with copies or pictures of clinical books and would reply again using other arguments, until she had no more arguments – my children used to tell me that my students “saw me as a barrier” – and, then, a student asked me “Did you see how many of the good students answered that question?” and, of course, I checked the tests of the students who had the best marks and who answered that question correctly and told her that she had found my Achilles heel, and that I would remove that question and that was it, but it was a hard struggle.

But I also have some unpleasant stories.

We were still in the old building, and one afternoon, right after lunch, I arrived and found all my assistants gathered around that big table in the meeting room, with the reports spread on the table, and they walking around. I obviously asked what was going on and they said “Oh, nothing…” They didn’t want to get me upset, until they came to me and told me “there has been plagiarism… this year’s students used last year’s reports.” We all went to the theoretical class and I explained what had happened and told them that they would all have to take the final exam. We had to cancel the continuous assessment. And, so, all the work they did as part of the continuous assessment was not considered for their final mark. I even got phone calls. It was a very unpleasant situation, but my decision was final.

There is another funny story, but only the people working at the time know about this one, and many years have passed since then. One afternoon, shortly after I arrived, I asked what was going on, because the bathroom door had been closed for a long time… they told me that there was someone inside. And that was it. But I started to get suspicious and demanded an explanation, because that afternoon I was the most qualified person there and had to know what was going on, “you have to tell me what is going on,” and they told me that there was a pig in the bathroom (Laughs). When they brought the pig, the bioterium was already closed and they didn’t want to take it back. I remember thinking, “What are we going to do now?” We had to find a solution to leave the pig with some water and no food until the next morning, until it could be taken into the bioterium. I spent the night worrying that someone would listen to it grunting, if it was hungry, if it would be dehydrated or cold, because we left the window open because of the smell and we were still on the 6th floor.

There is also the day when I found out that two of the researchers who worked with me were pregnant. It was a very difficult day… knowing that in a few months I would be without two members of the team, even if for a period of time… that was a terrible day for me (she said, smiling).

You talk about your students in a very caring way. Do you still meet your students, Professor?

Carlota Saldanha: Many times. I can tell you that one of those moments was on a day when Professor Sayon Roy was here. We went to lunch and I had found a place, close to Dona Estefânia, but when we got there, it was closed. I saw a girl passing by and I asked her if she knew any restaurant nearby and she says “Oh, Professor Carlota…” and it was a great coincidence. I meet them all the time, during flights, on waiting lines at the supermarket, when I go to concerts… Even when I enter the operating room for minor surgeries, I find out that the anaesthesiologist was a student of mine. Normally, they are the ones who recognise me.

And how do you feel in those moments?

Carlota Saldanha: I feel very grateful. The other day, I was with Professor Ana Silva Herdade. We went out to take care of something and then went for tea and I exchanged looks with a student that told me “Professor Carlota… you look exactly the same,” and I blushed like a little girl. My relatives and friends tell me “You are known for being too harsh on your students, but they like you a lot.” (Laughs) Because I demanded a lot from them, they had to study. But then I lost that characteristic… we get softer with age. But those are very rewarding moments.

You were responsible for the Applicant’s Day since its beginning in 2008. What was it like to coordinate that project?

Carlota Saldanha: It was so good! All the experiences were very good, but I remember the commitment and the enthusiasm of starting a project… I always had to have a strategy associated with the projects I was a part of. I think that it is essential to have a strategy and I’ve always tried to pass that idea on to my students.

What was it like to coordinate … First of all, it was very important to give all secondary schools in the country the chance to participate on this Day, by providing them with all the information in a timely manner. The second concern was to ensure complete safety. I was completely paranoid about safety and the procedure began with the explicit consent of the students’ parents. Then, it would be necessary to have a programme in place that would give them an overall perspective of what was going to happen. This plan evolved naturally, because it was outlined with the team. The entire team was really enthusiastic; we shared everything. We would do preparatory meetings, where everybody would spontaneously present their suggestions and we listened to each other.

The plan consisted of showing the different facilities, in terms of teaching and research.

Then, there was a time when we realised that the programme did not include the 6th year and that was a major flaw in terms of advertising the Faculty and so we included the 6th year in the programme. So, we kept adjusting it. We developed the initial and final surveys, which also assessed the level of satisfaction. Promoting that event has always been one of our concerns, because it is such a significant day for the students, even if they do not intend to study medicine. Some years, they would only apply because they were curious and not to choose medicine.

I remember one particular year, when we were fully booked and during the morning a new group arrived and wanted to stay. For that reason, it was our concern to create a safe and appealing event that would please everyone. And I cannot forget the important cooperation of FMUL’s Students Association, who have always supported me; it would be really difficult without them. We knew that they assured, through the older students, the visits to the various teaching-learning facilities. Usually, the day ended with a presentation from the Students Association and of all the activities developed by it.

They were a great support and I’m glad you came to talk to me (gets emotional) because when, following the honour that I received from FMUL and which I consider to be an honour to the Faculty and all the people that worked with me, I heard about it, I knew I had to stress the great support I received from the Students Association of the Faculty.

At the end of 2016, I asked not to be a part of the following edition of the Applicant’s Day, the 2017 edition.

Professor, your research is focused on hemorheology, which means the blood, its properties and elements. Basically, on the whole blood dynamics. However, we know that you favourite cell is the erythrocyte, which is the red blood cell. How did you develop your interest in this area?

Carlota Saldanha: I began my research work with Professor Carlos Manso on the erythrocyte metabolism, with Dr., currently Professor Lúcio Botas; apart from the classes and preparing them, I began researching on the literature we had; and I even thought about taking some medicine classes. I even went to see Professor David Ferreira to ask for his opinion.

Then came Professor Martins e Silva, whose work was in the field of red blood cells and metabolism and whose thesis was on purines and pyrimidines, if I am not mistaken. But he was interested in the red blood cell and it was at this stage that I started to implement methodologies for the use of the erythrocyte as an experimental model to establish the connection with the clinical area. That’s when I got excited about blood pressure; trying to understand the mechanism was a great challenge. Going to conferences and explaining what I had quantified in the red blood cells and trying to establish the connection with the clinical part was very hard, because there was no knowledge regarding that connection. I was highly focused on that part of the metabolism, always with different pathologies. Then, I focused on diabetes, there were no kits that allowed us to perform the Ac1 testing. It was I who designed the first method for quantifying the Ac1, which I presented at a Congress organised by Professor Pádua.

In the 80’s, I began studying hemorheology with Professor Martins e Silva. It was in Germany where I learned the aggregation and deformability techniques of the red blood cell, as well as other methodologies for assessing the membrane composition which has been applied to different pathologies.

But I am a Chemical Engineer and, therefore, I had to do my Doctoral studies in the field of Engineering. The red blood cell contains an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase and I have dedicated myself to studying its kinetics, by applying the knowledge I have acquired in the field of enzymology when I attended the previously mentioned course, at the Gulbenkian Science Institute. I attended courses at NATO, one of which on “Enzymology,” with the major experts at the time who were responsible for the best compendiums on this complex field. Everyone kept asking me what I was doing, because this enzyme is “insane;” they said, “that is very complicated, do not go that way, change the subject, change it,” but, as you can see, I’m a woman who likes to face challenges. Not knowing the role of such enzyme was what actually caught my attention. Previously, as suggested by Professor Martins e Silva, we had verified and published with the group of Professor Nogueira da Costa the increase in the enzymatic activity in the erythrocytes of patients suffering from high blood pressure. But we didn’t know why that happened; it hydrolyses the substrate, which is acetylcholine (its natural substrate; it is a molecule which is found at the level of neuromuscular junction and in several brain tissues) which prevents us from receiving nerve impulses all the time.

In order to develop my thesis, I had to leave the country, because here I didn’t have the amount of blood cells or the devices needed to purify the enzyme and, for that reason, I had to leave and I have been received in Bern, where I spent more than a month inside a white-tiled room with many litres of blood cells to be able to purify the enzyme. They allowed me to bring the purified enzyme and with the help of Mr. Carlos Moreira (currently a Professor at FMUL), who developed a program adapted to the enzyme’s kinetic curve. I really enjoyed this work. I learned a lot and consolidated the knowledge I had previously acquired. It contributed to establishing an understanding between the basic part and the clinical part.

In 2000, there was the need to give a direction to the research on the acetylcholinesterase and I started analysing the vascular part and the Nobel Prize on the NO caught my attention; I was fascinated by the fact that they have used little pieces of the pig’s artery which would dilate after being injected with acetylcholine or, if they caused damage to the endothelium, it would contract when exposed to acetylcholine. Later, I found, in literature, that a group in Japan had found that the acetylcholine was present in the blood flow and that it was produced by the endothelium and by the lymphocytes, in cases of inflammation. So, my reasoning was to think that if the acetylcholine dilates the endothelium, will it also be capable of modifying the blood cells’ deformability? And if the acetylcholine causes that endothelium to release nitric oxide (NO) both to the lumen and to the smooth muscle causing the vascular dilation, maybe there is NO in the erythrocyte? These were the two key questions and, in fact, I confirmed the presence of NO in the erythrocyte and that the acetylcholine increased the blood cells’ deformability. From then on, I continued to develop that work, knowing that the acetylcholinesterase associated with the substrate and/or inhibitors shows active, less active and inactive forms. I found that this enzyme plays the role of receptor in the signal transduction mechanism of the NO and is mediated by the NO

As a Group Leader at the CSaldanha. LAB has it always been your intention to embrace the interests of those who work with you and I also know that as a leader you always maintained a close relationship with everybody? Is this what makes a good leader?

Carlota Saldanha: I have to look at others as a whole. I have always tried to understand why people have certain interests and what makes them move forward. I have always tried to make them feel good about each other. And I also applied that same method as Interim Director of the Biochemistry Institute. But, of course… there were rules in the lab, the rules I talked about earlier, and in that matter I am truly intransigent. However, when it comes to working hours, every researcher had the freedom to set their own working schedule. I always tried to be involved in everything, by being receptive to everything and everyone.

I have always believed in people, which makes us more vulnerable at times, like, for example, when you find out that someone is leaving on the day before the deadline for delivering a thesis or the day before the beginning of the academic year. At the time, I felt powerless. But I needed to fix it, and I did.

Professor, I know that a few days ago you were voted for receiving the Fahraeus Medal Award, a prize awarded by the European Society of Hemorheology and Microcirculation, that highlights the great scientists in the field of Hemorheology and Microcirculation. How did you feel when you found out?

Carlota Saldanha: I wasn’t expecting it,; I feel very honoured and happy, but, yet again, it represents another challenge, because I have to give a lecture, which is the highlight of the Conference. I want to give a memorable lecture.

Professor, have you been to Mozambique since you moved to Lisbon?

Carlota Saldanha: I have been there twice. The first time was 10 years ago and then 5 years later. The first time, my son took me to Beira, where I realised that my School, which I thought was so big as a kid, was actually very small. We went to Kruger, in South Africa and it was an amazing experience. I didn’t get the chance to go to Gorongosa, but as I recall it, it was magnificent. It makes you feel so peaceful.

And what about the future?

Carlota Saldanha: I have to finish reviewing an article, which is what is concerning me at the moment; I went to a conference; I have to attend three more this year, including crazy travelling, that is, I have to make many stops, for economic reasons. I still have articles to publish. I am very pleased to have this room here at the Biochemistry Institute, which has been provided by Professor Miguel Castanho. It is very good for me, as working at home is not the same. I’m not much of a planner, but I intend to live up to my motto “being better tomorrow than you were yesterday” and to be more available to my family.

Allow me, Cristina, to thank all my friends across the different areas in the 2 buildings of the CAML, for their unconditional support and for treating me so well.

Acknowledgement – The editorial team would like to thank Professor Ana Santos Silva Herdade and Professor Ângelo Calado for their valuable contribution and for their help in collecting the information and preparing the interview.